T20 World Cup 2026: South Africa’s win over the West Indies by nine wickets simplifies India’s qualification scenario. The defending champions need two wins to make it to the semi-final.
India's qualification scenario simplified after South Africa defeats West Indies. Image Credit: X/@BCCI and @ProteasMenCSA
It was a clash between South Africa and the West Indies, but it is the defending champions, India, who would be the happiest side when they saw that the Proteas won the match by nine wickets with 23 balls remaining.
The Rainbow Nation continued with their winning streak in the tournament as they handed the West Indies their first loss in the T20 World Cup 2026. It has massively helped India as their qualification to the semi-final depended massively on the result.
With South Africa’s win over the West Indies, India would need to win their remaining two games of the Super 8 stage. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side would face Zimbabwe later today at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. A win there would help India level their points with the West Indies.
Their next clash would be against the two-time champions at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Both the West Indies and India would then be meeting each other in a virtual quarter-final. The winner of the match would move to the semi-final.
While winning the next two games would seal India’s semi-final berth, they can still afford to slip up against Zimbabwe. Thanks to the hammering from South Africa, the NRR of the West Indies taken a massive hit. It was at +5 at the start of the game, but the margin of the defeat has taken it down to +1.791. This means that India can still qualify for the semi-finals by finishing with two points. In this scenario, they would also need the Proteas to win against Zimbabwe on the 1st of March.
After a strong start with the ball in hand, South Africa slipped up slightly, allowing the West Indies to score 176 runs in the first innings. However, the target of 177 proved to be pretty low, as the Proteas, led by their skipper, Aiden Markram, chased down losing only a single wicket with 23 balls to spare. Markram remained unbeaten, scoring 82 runs in 46 balls, while Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton contributed nicely with knocks of 47 and 45, respectively. They face Zimbabwe next on the 1st of March at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The West Indies will play later on the same day against host India at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
